


The Morning After

by theroomstops



Category: The Durrells (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 07:13:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theroomstops/pseuds/theroomstops
Summary: The morning after Louisa and Spiros spend the night together for the first time. Family, fluff and a touch of seriousness.





	The Morning After

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction in probably 10 years, and obviously my first for this fandom. I was in a major "finished Durrells series 3 and series 4 is so far away"-funk and just needed to get this idea out of my head. I'm not a writer, nor is English my first language. And I don't own these perfectly lovable characters. So please bear with me.

“Morning, mother. Good morning, Spiros. Have a good night?" Larry smirked into his cup as he heard the last step of the staircase creaking from his place at the kitchen table, and Spiros’ soft voice asking where the kids are supposed to be.

“It’s 10 o’clock, why are you all still here?” Louisa looked at them, slightly fraught and genuinely surprised. She’d assumed they’d all be off in different directions, what with girls and animals to chase. And surely Margo was several hours late for work.

“It’s the weekend.” Gerry squinted briefly in her direction, distracted by feeding a puppy.

“I guess that’s a good review for you, Spiros. Mother can’t even remember what day of the week it is.” Larry chuckled and closed his eyes. Oh, how he’d waited for this very moment. Years, in fact, and he was planning to relish every second of it.

“I’ll come back later. Customers.” Spiros said casually, attempting to keep the tone light and breezy as he always did. He grabbed Louisa’s hand and pulled her slightly to the side, away from prying young eyes. He can practically hear Larry and Margo tipping their chairs back, so he wants to make it quick. He was well aware that Louisa’s never had another man in her bedroom since her husband passed away, and his heart soars at the thought of how meaningful last night was to both of them. A new start. Memories of the night flood over him. Images of her flushed face and pursed lips beneath him as he’d drowned himself in her, and snapping back to the present moment he couldn’t help himself and pressed her against the wall. “Thank you. For…”

Louisa’s eyes sparkle back at him, and she’s hoping he doesn’t notice that she’s barely able to keep her pounding heart under control. “Yes.” A simple ‘yes’ had never held more meaning to Spiros in his life. He kissed her softly, arms around her waist, and she felt like she was floating. Louisa wanted to melt into the wall and stay exactly like this forever. She could barely catch her breath when he broke away. He grinned cheekily, and cherished seeing his affect on her. He vowed to never stop cherishing feeling free to have that affect on her whenever he wanted. 

She whispered “More later?” as she stood up straight, so hushed he could barely hear it. He leaned in and placed a kiss just far enough down the side of her face that it made her blush. She moved her head towards his, gently resting her the side of her face against his, and before she could control herself, a quick giggle had escaped her. She didn’t even care. He made her happy. She would face her children’s mocking and prodding over breakfast for however long they intended to subject her to it, because last night and right now was worth every second of torture.

Spiros studied her face, wanting to remember every tiny detail of this very moment. She felt like home. She was the promise of more passionate nights and of lazy evenings, of moonlit walks and early mornings. Together. The past few years had felt agonizing and exhilarating all at once. He’d felt guilty as he slowly realized he had never felt for his wife what he felt for the newly arrived English woman, but when he was in her presence, somehow it didn’t feel as wrong as he knew it should. Spending time with her had been his guilty pleasure, and as time passed, he knew it hadn’t even been by choice. She had been his habit, one he refused to let go of. He had simply needed to be near her. Utterly unable to stay away. He’d craved her presence, her smile, her laughter. He’d found any and every excuse to run away from the family home that hadn’t been the domestic bliss he had hoped it would be all those years ago. 

He took a deep breath and kissed her forehead before he walked into the kitchen to greet the four younger Durrells he had grown so fond of. All of them were a little piece of her, and every single one impossible not to love. Leslie looked at him sternly, but he tried to ignore it as he steeled himself for that short walk towards the door.

“So, Spiros, how did you sleep?” Margo said as she practically giggled as she chewed her toast.

“Who says he slept?” 

“Yes, Larry, that’s quite enough of that. Let’s let Spiros go to work, shall we?” Louisa walked in from behind Spiros, who turned to look at her again. One last look before he forced himself away from this house for the day. Just the thought of it was unbearable when he looked at her now.

Louisa sat down at the end of the table, listening to her eldest son and her daughter tease Spiros about his presence. She would have stopped it, but the sound of their cheerful voices and the sight of Spiros still standing in her kitchen made her feel peaceful. Those dreadful years before they came here, before they left everything behind in England, before they’d met him, were just a bleak memory now. She glanced at Spiros once more. He looked happy. His lips a little fuller, face a giveaway tone of red and his eyes not his usually energetic self, but he looked happy. She hoped with every part of her that was her doing. _Handsome_ , as he’d jokingly and lovingly claimed as they ended their horrible disagreement a few months ago. And he really was. He was a gorgeous man. She’d noticed that the second he’d honked the car horn behind her, not even an hour after they’d arrived on this island they now called home. But then, he had been someone else’s. He hadn’t had tired eyes because of their first night together, swollen lips because of her, and a red face due to her children’s incessant teasing. And this image was more appealing to her than just any handsome taxi-driver. He was hers.

“I’ll see you later, Durrells.”

“So you won’t stay for breakfast?” Margo asked curiously.

“Yes, Spiros, you must. I mean, you must be famished after all that late night ploughing.” Larry said, fake seriousness dripping from every word. Margo almost choked on her eggs and Louisa threw a spoon the way of his head. 

“Ow. Mother, I’m teasing. Although the walls aren’t exactly soundproof, and though you surely didn’t hear us come in last night, we most certainly could hear you.” He took a large bite from his jam toast and looked thoroughly pleased with himself. Margo giggled by his side, trying her best to hide her thrill behind a calm facade.

“Gerry, please go outside.”

“I’m eating.” Gerry, certainly indeed the most grown up of them all, remained quietly in his chair. 

Louisa got up from her chair abruptly and slapped Larry on the head on her way over to bid Spiros farewell. Time to get him away safely, before her spawns made sure he didn’t dare set foot in their house again. Though he didn’t seem scared or anxious, he just smiled. It actually calmed her a little bit, but she still knew he needed to go tend to his costumers. Almost out of the door, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him for a quick kiss as Margo cheered from her seat. Larry gave his best wolf whistle a try, failing catastrophically, and they both laughed. He kissed her neck again and whispered “Louisa.” It gave her goose bumps. Her name had never sounded so important and so lovely as when it came from his mouth. Finally, he walked towards his car and she watched as he drove away. It felt like she could breathe again, feeling absolutely certain he’d be returning to her arms before the sun set on this perfect day.

As she walked in, Larry, Margo and Gerry clearly still brimmed with jokes ready to be had at her expense, but Leslie remained quiet. It was curious, because Leslie never really struggled keeping his opinions to himself when it came to her life choices. Louisa pulled out the chair and sat down next to him. “Leslie?” He looked up at her and took her hand.

“I’m happy for you. I really am. I’m just concerned. We adore Spiros; you know we all love him. I’m just scared you’ll love him more---“

“--More than you? Darling, that could never, ever happen. The heart is magnificent, it expands to make room for people, it doesn’t divide into pieces. And it’s not the same love. You four are my everything. Plus, I created you four, I’m legally required to love you.” She winked, hoping a joke would lighten his mood and the other three seemed to enjoy it. But Leslie didn’t really seem moved one way or the other.

“No. More than Father. I still remember you together, and I don’t want that memory to be meaningless. “

“Les…” Margo looked stunned. Larry gulped as he for once sat motionless on his chair.

“Spiros is not taking anyone’s place. He’s my prize, for putting up with you lot for all these years.” 

“Don’t joke about this. You’ve never done… this… before.” Heavy eyes threatened to let go of the tears it had quickly formed, and Louisa pulled her chair closer to her middle son.

“Leslie, you don’t ever have to be afraid of that. Your father was extraordinary. He was the first love of my life and he gave me the four greatest gifts in it. And if you remember us together, then you also remember what happened when we lost him. I know you are young, and you’ve only just had your first experience with love, but if you listen to me about nothing else, hear me on this. No one will ever replace or fill the place in my heart that belongs to your father. I still think about him every day, because I still see him in all of you. He’s right here with us. Raising you four without him was hard, harder than I could have ever expected it to be. And maybe I ran away from that grief and the hardship by coming here, but I wasn’t running away from him. I couldn’t.” She looked around the kitchen table, all of the others staring at their brother, afraid he’d upset her in her obviously happy and carefree state. 

“Because he’s right here, in your eyes. And he’s in Margo’s smile. And in Gerry’s resistance to care what anyone thinks of him as he jumps happily into a nearby ditch. And in Larry’s gift for making any moment slightly more intolerable than it has to be. I wouldn’t want to run from him, ever. But I did run from finding love again. Because how could I ever expect to find two great men to truly love in one lifetime? That almost seems unfair, doesn’t it?” 

Louisa held Leslie’s hand and she could feel him grabbing onto hers. He’d always been her most delicate child. Margo could come off as slightly dramatic, but Leslie was more easily hurt. He’d been the one closest to his father and the one who had outwardly grieved the least. He’d just assumed the role of her protector, presuming that’s what his father would have expected of him. Even at not even10 years old. “Some people never find one good man to love, and here I am lucky enough to find two. And I ran from this for a long time. I ran from Spiros. There were so many moments when I knew that, deep down. When he knew. And we both just did nothing, because we couldn’t. Because he was married. Because I’m me and I have all of you to think about. Because we didn’t dare. I didn’t do this lightly, and I think you all know that, even you, Leslie. We’re an open household, there are thin walls and open doors. We talk about everything in this family, so you know I didn’t do this until now.” 

All Leslie could do was nod, eyes still brimming with tears. Not that he knew why on a deeper level, it had just been more emotional than he had expected it to be. Hearing his mother giggling and whispering intimately with another man was different than he thought it would be. Louisa pulled him into her arms and Gerry laid a sticky hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry.” Louisa stroked his head gently.

“It’s just more different than I thought it would be.” Leslie cuddled into her arms and sniffled. She kissed his head and he sat up, trying to take a deep breath and collect himself slightly. “I mean there were some unmentionables in the years after Father died...” 

“Yes, not even worth the mention…” Louisa said, curtly.

“And there was Sven. And then Hugh.” Larry, always ready with the facts, obliged.

“I think Leslie means it’s different because it’s Spiros.” Margo, who had been quite reserved thus far, save for a few teasing comments in Spiros’ direction earlier. “We’ve all watched you together, so we know how much he means to you. He means a lot to all of us. It’s different when you know it’s real, don’t you think? Not that we didn’t like Sven.” Or Hugh, she added, words mumbled.

“Yes. Thank you, Margo.” Leslie sat up in his chair and forced a smile.

“Well, that was enlightening, wasn’t it? Not quite the way I expected this to go, thank you Leslie.” She got up off the chair and walked back to the other side of the table, where her plate awaited. Her stomach had been rumbling ferociously since she woke up. “Well, I’m famished. Someone pass the bread?” 

Larry’s lips curled into a devious smile, and he worked hard to constrain himself. Her son to a T, she thought to herself. He had a comment for everything. Margo, meanwhile, looked at her intently and curiously.

“You look happy.” She finally said, as Gerry handed her the bread basket. “And I haven’t seen your face this flushed since Captain Creech was plying you with cocktails.”

“Mm.” She looked out over the table, her four children all so grown up on the outside and yet still just her little babes on the inside.

“Is Spiros going to keep spending the night here?” Gerry finally contributed to the conversation. Larry threw his piece of toast at Gerry’s head as Margo shook her head.

“How would you feel about that, darling?” Louisa asked nervously as she put her hand over his. 

“I like having him here. And I need more cages for my animals, so it’s practical if he’s h…” Leslie shoved his arm into Gerry’s side to stop him from talking. Her youngest just scowled Leslie’s way as Louisa sighed, and calmed sipped her coffee. Well, at least that was over. And she’d expected far worse, to be fair, having seen how they’d interrogated Sven. Her children were protective and unafraid to take charge on her behalf, but looking at them now, even Leslie appeared to be in high spirits under the circumstances. 

“We all like having him here, Gerry, and not just because he fixes things. He’s practically part of the family, don’t you think?” Margo peeked at her mother as she spoke. 

They’d all waited for this, despite Leslie’s emotional reaction making it appear otherwise. As children of a young widow, especially one as charming and intelligent as Louisa was, they weren’t unfamiliar with men showing interest in their mother. Most of them never even made it through an initial conversation, let alone near their home. Somehow, Spiros survived both with ease. And he seemed to relish in the company of all of them, never dependant on Louisa’s presence to hang around the four of them. Though they had noticed from the beginning that his face always did perk up whenever their mother was near.

They’d never treated Hugh as one of the family, her children hadn’t warmed up enough to even ask if he would be staying over, let alone having breakfast. Nor had he been teased with all the love in world as Spiros had been just now. And Sven had understandably never appeared interested in either, despite her many attempts to tell him it was a possibility. But this was different. 

The bread basket emptied as the minutes passed by, and she could hear plans being made for the day as her mind wandered. She assumed swimming and board games had been planned for the evening. She made a mental note to get Spiros’ favorite foods to keep in the house, since he hadn’t chosen to take his suitcases with him when he left earlier. It was almost bizarre how simple it all seemed now. Three years of stolen glances, pounding hearts and worry that she’d let her friendly widow facade drop at the wrong time. Three years of feeling taken care of and cared for, but knowing that he would always leave every evening to go home to a family that loved and needed him. Complicated and impossible, that’s what it had felt like. She had tried to find what she was looking for in other men, she really had. Both times Spiros had been there to hold her or cheer her up when she had failed. Complicated indeed. And yet here their moment of clarity was, and suddenly everything seemed easy. For all of them. 

At least for the moment. 

They were Durrells after all.


End file.
